Take Out Chef

Chapter Nine

Chapter's song: SummerThing! by AFROJACK

I glared at my stupid brother but he ignored me completely as he made his way to the kitchen.

Juno had made beef roast for dinner. Apparently, Mr. Gomez idea of romancing my grandmother was giving her great cuts every day.

Juno made us set the table in the dining room, opened a bottle of wine and placed a new bouquet of roses in the middle of the table. I had to admit that Mr. Gomez seemed nice, you know, when he was dressed and outside of my grandmother's bedroom. The flowers were a nice touch, though.

"This is lovely, madam," Bryan said to Juno. Seth smirked before grabbing his glass of water and taking a sip.

Juno cleared her throat. "You can call me Juno, Bryan. We do not use formalities in this house."

He nodded shortly. "Okay." I could tell he was about to say ma'am or something like that. Instead, he took a sip of wine.

"I want to be vegetarian," Seth blurted out as he played around with his meal. I started to choke as I'd just put a carrot in my mouth.

"Nonsense, dear." Juno dismissed him while frowning at me.

Seth couldn't lose the opportunity to slap me hard on the back a few times. Bryan poured me water in my glass and passed it to me. "I think Jesse shares the sentiment, Juno. We should stop eating meat." Seth winked at me as I drank some water.

He liked to play the overprotective role once in a while. It never worked out. However, I knew where this was coming from. He felt wary about Mr. Gomez. It wasn't the meat. It was the fact that Juno was dating.

"You couldn't be a vegetarian, Seth." I said after clearing my throat.

Bryan looked at us as if we were crazy. Which we were. That's why I didn't want him to stay for dinner.

Juno sighed. "I'm dating a nice man who happens to be a butcher," she explained to Bryan, "And he's been giving me meat cuts, like these. Which I happen to thank him for."

Seth started to choke this time. We both knew very well how she thanked him. Juno's eyes narrowed. She had the whole you'll-pay-later look in her face.

Bryan took a sip of wine. "Well, the man does know his business. This is a great roast, ma─ Juno."

"Thank you," Juno seemed to have just forgotten about Mr. Gomez as she stared at Bryan smiling like a little girl. "So, how's my Jessie doing?"

He glanced at me for a second. "She's okay."

Okay? Just Okay? I've been slaving myself over him for the last two weeks. I creased my forehead as I glared at my food.

"What kind of chef are you?" Seth asked him.

"What do you mean?"

I gazed at Seth as he shrugged. "I don't know, do you have sort of different specialties and shit?" My eyes widened at his vocabulary. What is wrong with him? "Whoops, we're at the table, Juno. Sorry." He was acting out like a tool. Juno pressed her lips together but Seth ignored us both.

Bryan wiped the corner of his mouth. "I used to be the tournant, the all-purpose chef, so to speak. You can jump from station to station to check on everything. Now, I just own a restaurant."

"A restaurant!" I blurted out.

His lips tugged up in a lopsided smile. "Why do you look so surprised? Of course I do." He left the napkin on the table, next to his now empty plate. "Two, actually."